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I will post a single review to every monster as soon as I can.
Meanwhile since I hinted at my disappointment in another post I want to explain that, and it is not tied to one particular item, is about the entirety of them.
I was pretty excited when I read the rules of this year round 2 contest, particularly if I actually had the chance to participate, but even as an observer there was something I really looked forward to.
And that is the Urban Environment.
Urban environment allowed the contestant to engage in some deeply social monster. Monsters able to mix with society and influence it. Antagonist material rather than simple dungeon fodder waiting for an adventurer's blade.
I feel most of the monsters failed to bring that to the table and opted for a dungeon monster that simply circumvented the urban environment by using sewers or cellars as their own personal dungeon.
The impression is, most of the monsters were already prepared way before rpg superstar started this year and were simply put into the urban environment box by brute force.
I'm not saying that the monsters proposed are mechanically bad, and I'm not saying that among them there are not some pleasant surprises when it comes to flavor. Most of them are actually very well conceived monsters on their own.
But the impression is that most contestant treated the urban environment as an obstacle rather than an opportunity to create something exciting that belong in an urban settlement.
I was really looking forward to an addition to the vampires, the succubi, the corrupt nobles, spies, and read 32 great monsters that could be used in a social environment. Monster that lived the city rather than just being there by coincidence.
Then again, I hope my disappointment doesn't let anyone down.
Quite the opposite, I really hope that the ones of you that will manage to become freelancers will one day publish one of those great social monsters that I was expecting for this round. Maybe as a main antagonist.
Good luck to you all and always give your best.
I'll provide a feedback to every monster in the next days and do not fear, despite my disappointment I have definitely seen interesting monsters.
I completely agree with you, Scarletrose, especially that many did not consider making social monsters. On the other hand, I think the monster rules were given -- what? -- three to five days before the deadline? For an entry requiring plenty of playtesting and iteration, I do not fault contestants for adapting their monster to an urban environment. While twists are designed to challenge and a superstar can overcome it, I do not fault contestants submitting a polished entry rather than submit a rushed one.
I distinctly remember the River Kingdoms twist in the archetype round last year. Top 32 contestants were provided with the River Kingdoms supplement, but I did not get mine until literally the night before the deadline.
I distinctly remember the River Kingdoms twist in the archetype round last year. Top 32 contestants were provided with the River Kingdoms supplement, but I did not get mine until literally the night before the deadline.
That twist was revealed early as well, and the Golarian Wiki proved very useful in getting some basic understanding regarding that area.
I tend to agree somewhat (though I'm not sure *most* of the monsters fit this category, but a lot do). It does seem as if many were generically tacked into a possible urban setting as an addendum, rather than being built specifically for an urban setting. I don't personally care if specific Golarion references are used myself (I think Golarion-esque is near the mark enough), but they should be urban.
On the other hand, there are several creatures who not only look like they were specifically designed around an urban concept, but which are very thoughtful and creative to boot!
I think a few of this years Monsters have played into the space your are taking about.
The Kaliswyrm has some intelligence and will make pacts with nefarious guilds, a creative DM can use that to their advantage to create a horrific social encounter / adventure.
The Agoravore could easily be given class levels (NPC or Rouge) and worked into an adventure or setting as a corrupt noble or spy.
The Guttersnipe extorts sailors, a creative DM will be inspired to add the little dragon into the hierarchy of the dock "underworld."
A Filth Dragon, collects information....a dirty monstrous "lord Varys" of the city underworld.
Keep in mind the CR limit the designers were given...max CR 4. Vampires are CR9 and Succubus' are CR7 for your run of the mill ones....any that are included in the setting/adventure as movers and shakers are probably going to be advanced in some way to make them memorable. The lower CR leads to less powerful creatures, I can't speak for the Top 32 but I would have shied away from trying to create a new deeply social antagonist you are describing because I don't think at CR4 I could have done it better than the existing creatures in the game.
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I was actually hoping for a few Improved Familiar critters, given the CR and setting.
I do agree that some of the monsters seemed to be more geared towards "this could live in an urban setting" rather than "this thrives in an urban setting," but a good number of them felt like they fit well into the urban environment. I would have liked to see more social monsters as well, but that is more of a personal preference rather than an actual critique from me.
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On the other hand, I think the monster rules were given -- what? -- three to five days before the deadline? For an entry requiring plenty of playtesting and iteration, I do not fault contestants for adapting their monster to an urban environment.
The fact is... this is not a contest for a one time cash prize.
This is a contest to become a freelancer.When you become a freelancer you will not have the luxury of knowing "we need a wondrous item, a monster an encounter and an adventure, all to be delivered in a year".
Is probably more like "we need a cr 3 monster no more no less, in this new location we just written about, we will send you a partial draft about it. Can you send us an entry in 3 days?"
I doubt you can rework your cool mummy variant for an adventure played in a demiplane of water.
And even if you can... it's cutting corners and sending in the work that costed you less trouble rather than the best work you could have done.
I think the point of this contest is you have to come up with something cool, clever and well written in a pinch. because that's what you are supposed to do if you get the job.
And sure... from time to time you will have some work where you can really take your time. but if is anything like video game design, most of the time is "we need a solution and we need it yesterday".
Keep in mind two things.
One: Every year, the judges and tech team watch the votes come in and track how well each entry is doing. And every year, the pack quickly sorts itself into two halves: "those who clearly are moving on to the next round," and "those who are not." There is some jockeying for position along the borderline, but the top and bottom entries are pretty solidly in place. And this happens for every single round.
Two: This year's monster round is unusual because it's the first time we've had 32 monster submissions. Normally it's just 16. So instead of having just 8 monsters in the lower half of the pack, we have 16.
When you combine both of these points (a clear upper and lower half, and a larger pool in each half), it looks like, "wow, there sure are a lot of monsters which saw [the twist] as an obstacle rather than an opportunity."
Although we can definitely take away that people want urban fey.
*Ahem* Paizo *Ahem*
:)
I doubt you can rework your cool mummy variant for an adventure played in a demiplane of water.Challenge accepted. On a demiplane of water, you might encounter...
Bog mummies: "Some mummies are created by natural processes which occur only in peat bogs."
Buoyant dead: "The desiccated corpse of this aquatic creature floats in a bubble of stale air."
Waterlogged mummies: "An inanimate mummy exposed to large amounts of water is ruined. An undead mummy exposed to large amounts of water is merely transformed..."
I think a 'Booya' is in order?
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I doubt you can rework your cool mummy variant for an adventure played in a demiplane of water.Challenge accepted. On a demiplane of water, you might encounter...
Bog mummies: "Some mummies are created by natural processes which occur only in peat bogs."
Buoyant dead: "The desiccated corpse of this aquatic creature floats in a bubble of stale air."
Waterlogged mummies: "An inanimate mummy exposed to large amounts of water is ruined. An undead mummy exposed to large amounts of water is merely transformed..."
Lol... but also proves my point.
How much do you really need to come up with a good concept from a given theme? If the answer is 3 months, that is a problem.When you combine both of these points (a clear upper and lower half, and a larger pool in each half), it looks like, "wow, there sure are a lot of monsters which saw [the twist] as an obstacle rather than an opportunity."
That's more than possible.
I would also add...Three: Since urban adventures are some of my favorites and "create an urban monster" would be by far one of my favorite assignment in a contest like this, is almost certain that I'm way too demanding on this matter.
I wouldn't worry about being a demanding fan. You should see what I demand of myself when trying to write things for Superstar/Wayfinder - lol - nothing is more demanding than a designer trying to become a fan favorite >.<
Speaking of which, I must get my head into devil mode for Wayfinder 11...
I was incredibly impressed by the monsters. There are about twenty-five that are good enough to get into the Top 32, and the rest aren't bad. That's a better deal than we get most years for the Top 32.
I was incredibly impressed by the monsters. There are about twenty-five that are good enough to get into the Top 32, and the rest aren't bad. That's a better deal than we get most years for the Top 32.
It just goes to show that the new voting and sorting system to find the top 32 works really well. This is a good batch of monsters.
I was incredibly impressed by the monsters. There are about twenty-five that are good enough to get into the Top 32, and the rest aren't bad. That's a better deal than we get most years for the Top 32.
I can't agree strongly enough. Most years in the top 32, there's only about four or five 'must-have' entries for me, and the rest get filled out by some kind of sorting system in my head. (Which isn't a knock against those contestants, just a statement that Round 2 is traditionally very good at being a winnowing round.) This year I simply don't have enough votes for all the entries I *really* want to see advance. Even after six or so 'best of the best' entries, there's still a ton that are such strong contenders that I honestly think they deserve to be in the top 16. And just so I'm clear, that means I want the top 16 to be composed of about 24+ contestants. I hate having to make hard choices!
Yeah, I could have done 16 easily. In fact, I thought for some reason that there would be 16 contestants in round 3 and the top 4 would be chosen from those, which made recipients for my 8 votes all the more difficult to select.
I'm with Scarlet here on this.. After reading them I started to see a trend of form fitting- meaning,into an environment I don't believe they were crafted for. Of the 32 I liked maybe a handful and appreciated maybe a handful and then the rest are pretty bland to me. I wanted to see something political, social, or hidden within the social presence.
An Example:
A race of alien creatures from Bretheda that can appear as any type of humanoid with their only purpose in mind to infiltrate humanity long enough to get back the Starstone that came from their planet. So far they have spent the last two hundred years slowly working themselves into the society of Absalom. Meeting weekly in secret, going over their plans and how best to position themselves for the ultimate goal. (Just spit balling this of course but...)
There was so much room here for true history building and flavor simply based around the fantastic cities and urban areas of the inner sea.
Statwise most did a fine job.. well done there.
Looking forward to the next round.
Good luck top 32~ no matter what we say here, keep in mind you made it this far.. your in a place of honor. So Chin up.. your 1 step closer~
Keep in mind two things.
One: Every year, the judges and tech team watch the votes come in and track how well each entry is doing. ...
It would be cool to watch this. Even if it was a powerpoint/slideshow stripped of all names. It'd be cool. Something to show a group of fans, at a seminar or some such thing. :) just sayin'.
I understand the OP's position and agree that a lot of these monsters were created and then reworked to fit the Golarion urban theme. Some even left Golarion out entirely for some reason. This did not impress me, even though the monsters were mostly well made.
Still I would point out that rats are a primarily urban creature that does not exactly deal with social/political issues other than waste management. Just because it's urban doesn't require it to be social.
I agree however that that was a niche that could have been exploited by an imaginative creator.
Yeah, I could have done 16 easily. In fact, I thought for some reason that there would be 16 contestants in round 3 and the top 4 would be chosen from those, which made recipients for my 8 votes all the more difficult to select.
Sorry, I'm confused now. Isn't that how it's going down? 32 to 16 to 4?
Maybe. My main point was that I was expecting 16 votes for some reason.
